404. “Active physical resistance” means the subject’s physical actions are intended to
prevent an officer from placing the subject in custody and taking control, but are not
directed at harming the officer. Examples include: breaking the officer’s grip or hiding
from detection. Verbal statements alone do not constitute active resistance.
405. “Aggressive physical resistance” means the subject poses a threat of harm to the officer
or others, such as when a subject attempts to attack or does attack an officer; exhibits
combative behavior (e.g., lunging toward the officer, striking the officer with hands,
fists, kicks, or any weapon).
406. “Arrest” is the taking of one person into custody by another. To constitute arrest there
must be an actual restraint of the person. The restraint may be imposed by force or may
result from the submission of the person arrested to the custody of the one arresting
him. An arrest is a restraint of greater scope or duration than an investigatory stop or
detention. An arrest is lawful when supported by probable cause.
407. Bias-free policing means policing that is accomplished without the selective
enforcement or non-enforcement of the law, including the selection or rejection of
particular policing tactics or strategics, based on the subject’s membership in a
demographic category.
408. “Canine apprehension” means any time a canine is deployed and plays a clear role in
the capture of a person. The mere presence of a canine at the scene of an arrest or use of
a canine solely to track a subject will not count as a canine apprehension.
409. “CDP” refers to the Cleveland Division of Police and its agents, officers, supervisors,
and employees (both sworn and unsworn).
410. “Chief” means the Chief of Police of the Cleveland Division of Police or his or her
properly designated Acting Chief.
411. “CIT” means crisis intervention trained.
412. “City” means the City of Cleveland, including its agents, officers, and employees.
413. “Crisis Intervention Program” is a first responder model of police-based crisis
intervention that involves a dynamic collaboration of community, health care, and
advocacy partnerships committed to improving the way law enforcement and the
community respond to individuals in crisis.
414. “Community and problem-oriented policing” is a policing philosophy that promotes
and relies on collaborative partnerships between law enforcement agencies and the
individuals and organizations they serve to develop solutions to problems, increase trust
in police, and improve the effectiveness of policing efforts.
415. “Complainant” means any person who makes a complaint against CDP or an officer or
employee of CDP.
416. “Court” will refer to the United States District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio
presiding over this case.
417. “Critical firearm discharge” means a discharge of a firearm by a CDP officer, including
accidental discharges; discharges at animals, other than to euthanize an animal under
controlled circumstances; and discharges at persons where no one is struck, with the
exception of recreational activities, range, discharges into a weapons clearing trap, and
training discharges that do not result in a person being struck.
418. “Days” means calendar days unless otherwise modified.
419. “Demographic category” means race, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender, gender
expression or identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or limited English
proficiency.
420. “Department of Justice” or “DOJ” refers jointly to the United States Department of
Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern
District of Ohio.
421. “Developmental disability” is a condition that begins during the developmental period
and that negatively affects the trajectory of the individual’s physical, intellectual, and/or
emotional development. A developmental disability is often a lifelong condition that
results in substantial functional limitations in areas such as self-care, mobility, self-direction
and capacity for independent living. It can also be characterized by problems
with both intellectual functioning or intelligence, which include the ability to learn,
reason, problem solve, and other skills; and adaptive behavior, which includes everyday
social and life skills.
422. “Discipline” or “disciplinary action” means a personnel action for violation of an
established law, regulation, rule, administrative rule, or CDP policy, including a verbal
reprimand, written reprimand, suspension, or dismissal.
423. “District” refers to one of the service areas of CDP, which together cover the entire
geographic area of the City of Cleveland. Each District is led by a District Commander.
424. “ECW” means Electronic Control Weapon, a weapon, including those manufactured by
TASER International, designed primarily to discharge electrical charges into a subject
that will cause involuntary muscle contractions and override the subject’s voluntary
motor responses.
425. “ECW application” means the contact and delivery of an electrical impulse to a subject
with an Electronic Control Weapon.
426. “Effective Date” means the day this Agreement is approved and entered as an order of
the Court.
427. “Firearm” means any instrument capable of discharging a bullet or shot, including a
pistol, revolver, rifle or shotgun. Bean bag shot guns used as such are not firearms for
the purposes of this Agreement.
428. “Implement” or “implementation” means the putting into place of a policy or
procedure, including the appropriate training of all relevant personnel, and the
consistent and verified performance of that policy or procedure in actual practice
through the regular use of audit tools.
429. “Including” means “including, but not limited to.”
430. “Investigatory stop” or “investigatory detention” means a temporary restraint where the
subject of the stop or detention reasonably believes that she or he is not free to leave
within the meaning of Terry v. Ohio. An investigatory stop or detention may be a
pedestrian, vehicle, or bicycle stop.
431. “Individual in crisis” means a person in a mental health crisis or who appears to be
significantly under the influence of opioids or PCP.
432. “Less lethal force” means a force application not likely to cause death or serious
physical injury. Use of less lethal force can nonetheless result in death or serious
physical injury.
433. “Lethal force” means any use of force likely to cause death or serious physical injury,
including the critical discharge of a firearm, or strike to the head, neck, or throat with a
hard object.
434. “Mental health crisis” means an incident in which someone with an actual or perceived
mental illness or developmental disability is experiencing intense feelings of personal
distress (e.g., anxiety, depression, anger, fear, panic, hopelessness), obvious changes in
functioning (e.g., neglect of personal hygiene, unusual behavior) or catastrophic life
events (e.g., disruptions in personal relationships, support systems, or living
arrangements; loss of autonomy or parental rights; victimization; natural disasters),
which may, but not necessarily, result in an upward trajectory of intensity culminating
in thoughts or acts that are dangerous to his- or herself and/or others.
435. “Mental Health community” includes individuals and professionals from the mental
health, alcohol and drug addition, developmentally disabled, and child and adolescent
development communities.
436. “Mental Health provider” includes professionals from the mental health, alcohol and
drug addiction, developmentally disabled, and child and adolescent development
communities, who have the appropriate training and education in their respective fields
and who are currently licensed in the State of Ohio to deliver the services he or she has
undertaken to provide.
437. “Mental illness” is a medical condition that disrupts an individual’s thinking,
perception, mood, or ability to relate to others such that daily functioning and coping
with the ordinary demands of life are diminished. Mental illness includes, but is not
limited to, serious mental illnesses such as major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar
disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (“OCD”), panic disorder, posttraumatic stress
disorder (“PTSD”), and borderline personality disorder. Mental illness includes
individuals with dual diagnosis of mental illness and another condition, such as drug
and/or alcohol addiction.
438. “Misconduct” means any improper conduct by an officer, including an alleged violation
of CDP policy, procedure, regulations, orders, or other standards of conduct required of
City employees including the improper use of force. Solely for purposes of this
Agreement, misconduct does not include minor infractions, such as uniform violations,
routine motor vehicle accidents, or violations umelated to the terms of this Agreement.
439. “Mobile Computer-Aided Dispatch System” is a computerized method of dispatching
police officers on a service call. It can also be used to send messages to the dispatcher
and store and retrieve data (i.e., radio logs, field interviews, schedules, etc.).
440. “Monitor” means a team of people who will be jointly selected to monitor and report on
the implementation of this Agreement.
441. “Neck hold” refers to one of the following types of holds: (I) carotid restraint hold; (2)
a lateral vascular neck constraint; or (3) a hold with a knee or other object to a subject’s
neck.
442. “Non-disciplinary corrective action” refers to action other than discipline taken to
enable or encourage an officer to improve his or her performance.
443. “OC Spray application” means the deployment of Oleoresin Capsicum Spray on a
known subject. It does not include the deployment of OC Spray to clear a room when
there are no visible subjects.
444. “Office of Professional Standards” or “OPS” means the City agency responsible for the
intake and investigation of civilian complaints of police misconduct.
445. “OIP” means the Officer Intervention Program.
446. “Passive resistance” means non-compliance with officer commands that is non-violent
and does not pose an immediate threat to the officer or the public. Bracing, tensing,
linking arms. or verbally signaling an intention to avoid or prevent being taken into
custody constitute passive resistance.
447. “Personnel” means all CDP employees.
448. “Police officer” or “officer” means any sworn law enforcement agent employed by or
volunteering for CDP, including supervisors and reserve officers.
449. “Policies and procedures” means written regulations or directives, regardless of the
name of the regulation or directive, describing the duties, functions, and obligations of
CDP personnel, and providing specific direction on how to fulfill those duties,
functions, or obligations. These include general orders, special orders, policies,
procedures, and standard operating procedures.
450. “Procedural justice” refers to a concept involving four central principles designed to
build public confidence in the police: 1) treating people with dignity and respect; 2)
giving individuals a chance to be heard during encounters; 3) making decisions fairly
and transparently, based on facts; and 4) conveying goodwill and trustworthiness.
451. “Reasonable force” means force that complies with the Fourth Amendment’s
requirement of objective reasonableness under Graham v. Connor.
452. “Records Management System” means an agency-wide system that provides for the
storage, retrieval, retention, manipulation, archiving, and viewing of information,
records documents, or files pertaining to law enforcement operations.
453. “Seizure” occurs when an officer’s words or actions convey to a reasonable person that
he or she is not free to leave.
454. “Serious physical injury” means injury that creates a probability of death, or which
causes significant serious permanent or protracted disfigurement, or which causes a
significant petmanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any body part
or organ.
455. “Specialized unit” means a designated law enforcement component with specialized
training, skills, and mission.
456. “Substantial and Effective Compliance” means that the City either has complied with
all material requirements of this Agreement, or has achieved sustained and continuing
improvement in constitutional policing, as demonstrated pursuant to this Agreement’s
outcome measures.
457. “Supervisor” means sworn CDP personnel at the rank of sergeant or above (or anyone
acting in those capacities) and non-sworn CDP personnel with oversight responsibility
for other personnel.
458. “Unity of Command” means that all officers are assigned to a consistent, clearly
identified first-line supervisor and that first-line supervisors are assigned to work the
same days and hours as the officers they are assigned to supervise.
459. “Use of force” means any physical coercion used by an officer in performance of
official duties that is a Level 1, 2, or 3 use of force.
460. “Use of force involving potential criminal conduct” means force that a reasonable and
trained supervisor would conclude could result in criminal charges due to the apparent
circumstances of the use of force.
461. “Use of Force Report” means a written report documenting all force at Level 1 or
above.
462. “Will” or “Shall” or “agrees to” means that the provision imposes a mandatory duty.